Rain4Sahara
“I’m an older woman. I have only one daughter. She had two children before marrying… So now I take care of my two grandchildren for her. The children are too young to help me. I was living at the mercy of my own poverty and sometimes received help from do-gooders, giving me a little assistance from time to time. Thanks to two loans this past year, ...
Tanalher, one of our mentors, reflects about the mentoring program and the value of education:
“RAIN’s school programs this year greatly helped our school. In their free time, I talk with my students about good hygiene and the importance of education. I also teach the girls I sponsor how to weave colored, palm frond hats and mats. If my parents had realized the importance of school for my generation, ...
Hadi, an 8th grade student at the Agadez Learning Center (ALC), comes from a small village where her younger siblings are enrolled in elementary school. Her older sister dropped out after elementary school, leaving Hadi to attend middle school alone. She explains that coming to the ALC was, “the first time I saw all these beautiful and wonderful things like the city lit by electricity as if it was daylight… ...
Fatima, a Tuareg girl from a small village east of Agadez, compares life at home with her experience at the Agadez Learning Center. She writes:
“My family lives simply: the women do the housework and drive our herds to the pasture. There is no mill, no electricity, no boreholes to easily find water.
In my new middle school, ...
Anywhere in the world a new school year can bring up a mix of excitement and nerves. In Niger it’s no different. Many of our rural and nomadic students are the first in their family, or even community to have the opportunity to pursue their education. They are eager to learn, but there is still a tension as they consider the long commutes on foot, ...
Issoufou’s family lives far from school. His village, Tchilizdag, has a struggling elementary school with rapid staff turnover and poor oversight. Many parents are frustrated — they are interested in sending their children to school, but there are few success stories. Even in this environment, Issoufou has succeeded academically. This is truly a testament to Issoufou’s desire to learn because he has also needed to overcome his physical handicaps – he has a hunchback and disabled left foot. ...
